“Well,” Grace said. “Maybe we should go help her get things set up then.”
“Oh no,” Annabelle said. “Not with Jed still healing and you doing all the hard work already. Why don’t we go into my house and we can put together something yummy to share. We’ve probably got around an hour until she calls for an official start time.”
Jed shrugged. He knew he couldn’t get out of this, so he might as well go help where he could. And if that meant he could taste test whatever it was they put together to share, he was fine with that.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Grace turned to meet Mrs. Howard as the woman entered Annabelle’s kitchen.
“There you two are. I saw your girls playing in the shade of the trees by the church, but no sign of you. How could we celebrate your wedding if you aren’t there?”
“Mother,” Annabelle said. “They know better than to sneak away a second time. And Grace has been helping me with the biscuits and cobbler.”
“Excellent,” Mrs. Howard said. “I’ve still got a few bottles of the preserves we put up last fall. I’ll grab one of them to go along with your biscuits. Now, the two of you and little Milo there need to head over to the church and start talking to everyone. People are waiting to say hello and see how you’re doing. And don’t be surprised that they already know about your run in with that rattler. Your two girls have been chattering about it nonstop.”
Grace could just imagine how they would tell the story as well. She hoped Missy could keep Lottie’s over dramatic tendencies in check.
“Let me carry over what you’ve already got made,” Grace said.
“That would be lovely,” Annabelle said. “I’ll be over soon.”
Jed had a hold of Milo on his lap, and he adjusted the sleepy boy against his shoulder, then stood with the help of his walking stick and followed Grace out the door.
“I hope he’s not too heavy for you with your leg,” Grace said. “How’s it feeling?”
“Not bad as long as I keep the stick with me.”
Someone in town caught sight of the two of them walking, and met them halfway, taking the basket of food from Grace and leading the two of them to some chairs that had been brought from somewhere.
Though she had met a lot of them in the few days she’d been staying with Susan and Michael at the boarding house, it was odd to talk with them now. Everyone had been nice before, but now that she was married to Jed and staying here for certain, it seemed like they just wrapped her up in their circle and made her feel at home.
Jed sat next to her, holding the sleeping boy against him with one arm, and reached for her hand to hold it as they talked and visited with everyone who came to celebrate with them.
Dozens of people asked over and over again about Jed’s run-in with the rattler, and each time Jed told of how he’d been cared for by Grace, and how she’d taken care of the planting, she felt as if he was exaggerating. Then he turned to look at her, and she could see in his eyes that he meant what he said.
***
By the time they were able to load up the children and the gifts so generously donated by the people of Birch Creek into the wagon, the sun was close to the horizon. It would be mostly dark by the time they got home, but Jed knew Hank, his horse, could find his way home in the dark. And there would be at least a partial moon.
Jed watched as Grace hugged the women goodbye, then she climbed into the wagon bed.
“Go ahead and lay down and rest for the ride back home. We’ll be there soon and you can go right to bed.”
“I’m not sleepy,” Lottie said just before Missy let out a big yawn that immediately was followed by an even larger yawn from Lottie. Missy was already laying down with Milo right next to her.
“That’s all right, Lottie,” Grace said. “You don’t have to sleep. But it will feel better laying down on that bit of fabric that we can make another warm blanket with.”
Jed chuckled as Lottie looked at the fabric, then she shrugged and lay down on it, fighting another yawn. He was certain she would be asleep before they even passed the last house on the road leading out of Birch Creek.
Once the children were all settled, Grace moved to the front of the wagon and lifted her skirt up to climb over the seat and onto the bench. With everyone else busy cleaning up or gone home to their own places, he was sure no one else had seen her legs, but the sight of them did things to his middle.
Jed looked back into the wagon bed to make sure that everything was good and to gather his thoughts before he climbed up to sit next to Grace on the wagon seat.
He’d been surprised at how normal and natural it had seemed to be there with Grace, celebrating their marriage and holding her hand while talking with everyone in Birch Creek. Though he missed Lizzie, he felt as if things were how they should be.
“Would you like to drive us home?” Jed asked.
Grace looked at him then at the reins held loosely in his hands. “If you’d like me to, I will. But if you feel up to it, I’d think we’d have a better chance of making it home with you in charge.”
“Why’s that?” Jed asked.
“I don’t know the way in the dark.”
“You don’t need to know,” Jed said. “Just follow the same trail we came in on. Besides, the horse knows the way.”
Jed flicked the reins to encourage Hank to begin walking and immediately the wagon moved forward. They traveled for a few minutes, and Grace glanced into the back a few times, then turned to look up at him.
“They’re all asleep.”
“I knew it,” Jed said. “They were running around nonstop. I think they enjoyed having other children to play with.”
“It was a good day,” Grace said. “Thank you for staying longer tonight than planned. It was nice to visit with Susan and Annabelle. Not to mention meeting some of the other ladies and getting to know them better.”
“I enjoyed it,” Jed said. “I didn’t think I would at first. I was worried it would feel awkward to celebrate a few weeks after we were married. But it was nice. The last time I saw most of those folks was just after Lizzie passed.”
“I’d imagine that would bring up a lot of sad memories.” Grace looked at him for a moment, then looked straight ahead.
“It did at first,” Jed said. “I couldn’t help thinking of how sad and horrible that had all been.”
“A lot of the ladies I talked to told me about Lizzie. She sounds like she was wonderful.”
Jed nodded. “She was.”
“I’m sorry you lost her.” Grace didn’t look at him, instead she looked at her hands, clasped together on her lap.
“It was hard,” Jed said. “And not something I would wish on anyone to experience.” He reached for her hand, needing to feel that connection he’d felt earlier as they’d sat together while talking with the town’s folk.
They rode for a few more minutes as he debated on reaching for the gift he’d found at the mercantile. He wanted to give it to her, but he didn’t want to do a sloppy job of expressing what she meant to him. Talking with his new wife about his deceased wife was a delicate topic.
“Lizzie was a huge part of my life, Grace,” Jed said after another long moment. “But you are too. I thought when I lost Lizzie all those months ago that I would never know love again. But Grace, you are love. You are what I need in life. Someone who is strong and capable, and knows her limits, but still works harder than anyone to push past them. You’ve captured my children’s love from the first moment they saw you. Took me only a few extra days, but Grace, I love you. All of you. Everything about you.”
“You love me?” Grace whispered.
“I do.” Jed nodded. “I’ll give you as much time to get used to the idea as you want. But I want us to be husband and wife. Not just Papa and Momma to my children. And I hope that maybe someday there will be more children.”
“Really?” Grace asked.
“If you’re willing.”
Grace nodded and a blush rose up her che
eks. He smiled and squeezed her hand then tugged a little.
“Will you come sit by me?”
Grace scooted closer to him until he was able to put his arm around her and pull her against his side.
“May I kiss you?” Jed asked.
“While you’re driving the wagon? And with your children right here?” Grace whispered.
“Hank doesn’t need my direction. Besides, they’re all asleep.”
“But what if they wake up?”
Jed shrugged. “What better way to let them know I love you and that we need you?”
Grace breathed out slowly. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe what?” Jed asked.
“That you love me.”
“Believe it, Grace. You are love in the form of a woman. I doubt anyone could avoid loving you.”
Grace nodded her acceptance of his request and as Jed leaned closer, she closed her eyes. He didn’t want to scare her or make her worry he was going to ask for too much too soon, so he placed his lips softly against hers and held them there for a moment. He pulled back a little, looked in her eyes for permission to kiss her again, and when she nodded, he kissed her once more. He placed his hand on her waist and Grace touched his shoulder. The kiss was gentle and soft and spoke of promise and hope.
She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes full of emotion.
Jed reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d found. It was a simple band and he hoped it would fit, but if it didn’t, he’d thread some ribbon through it and make it a necklace for her.
Jed took Grace’s hand and tried to slip the ring on her finger. It was a little large, but that was better than too small. Once he had it on her hand, he folded her fingers over and held her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers right next to where the ring was.
Grace placed her other hand on her heart and Jed leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently against hers. He didn’t have to ask again. In fact, Grace wrapped her arms around him and kissed him of her own free will.
“Thank you, Jed,” she whispered against his cheek after a moment. “Thank you for giving me a family. Thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for… well, for everything.”
She kissed him again and as she pulled away slowly after a moment, she whispered. “I love you.”
He didn’t know what he had done in his life to be blessed to have the love of this woman after thinking he would never know love again once he’d lost Lizzie. And while he would always love his first wife, he was pleased to find his heart was still able to hold more.
EPILOGUE
Grace looked out at the white field, just waiting to be harvested. She hadn’t been able to come out to the fields for a while now since she had been overly busy at the house and with the children. That was when she felt strong enough to manage. Thankfully, over the last month, she’d started feeling a lot more energy and no longer felt so worn out. Most of her time had been spent working on the garden and preserving or drying their bountiful harvest as they approached the middle of autumn.
She’d learned how to make jams and jellies from a few of the ladies in town after taking a trip in to Birch Creek by herself with the wagon. And Annabelle had shown her a few patterns for some new clothes she’d be making for the coming addition to their family.
Never in her life had she expected she’d feel this free and this needed.
“What do you think?” Jed asked as he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his chin at the side of her temple as they looked across the wheat field together.
“I think it will be a lot of work.”
“That it will,” Jed agreed. “But you only have yourself to blame.”
“I know,” Grace sighed dramatically. “I should have just left it only halfway done.”
“Well, I’ll help you harvest it.” Jed turned her to face him and kissed her softly.
“I should hope so,” Grace said. “I’d hate to think you were turning lazy all of a sudden.”
“Lazy?” Jed replied with mock indignation. “Never!”
“Good thing,” Grace said, adjusting her footing to allow herself to stand more comfortably against him. Her round belly was getting bigger and bigger and the little one inside didn’t like being squished. Too bad, because she loved being held tight by Jed.
“With our growing family, it’s going to take a lot of work to keep everyone fed.”
“We can do it though,” Grace said. “You and Lizzie worked hard to break this ground and you, me, and our herd of little ones will keep it going.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Jed replied. “Now, if you’ll go sit and rest for a bit, I’ll start cutting it down and show you how it’s done. But don’t expect me to give you a turn with this scythe. You and the little one are too precious. You’ll just have to be satisfied with the threshing and sifting of the heads.”
“I thought you said that’s the hardest part.”
“Oh yeah, I did.” Jed winked.
“You are such a tease,” Grace said.
“But you love me anyway.”
“I sure do,” Grace said. “More than I ever thought possible.”
Dear Beatrice,
I hope you are well, and that you have had success in your goal of learning medicine. I know this letter is probably unexpected since we haven’t seen each other in years, but I want to assure you that I am doing well. I have managed to have a good life and have been productive even with the problems that broken bone as a teen presented to me.
I have moved out west to the Idaho territory. I found myself in a wonderful little town called Birch Creek. There are so many things here to recommend it to anyone looking for a new life and a fresh start.
This may not be something you would be interested in, but if you ever find yourself wanting a place to use your love of medicine and your knowledge of the human body and healing methods, might I recommend you look into coming out west? There is such a need for people who are strong and capable and willing to learn. I myself have even gone so far as to marry a widower with three children and have helped him with his farm as well as kept him alive after a horrid bite from a rattler snake.
While I nursed him back to health, I wished for more knowledge and understanding of how to help someone heal, and if the people there aren’t understanding of your desires to work in medicine, I know Birch Creek would welcome you with open arms.
Once again, I wish you well, and even if you choose not to come out here, I hope to receive a letter from you in return. I would love to know how you fair and how things are with you and your father.
All my love,
Grace Burr Owens
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed reading The Widower’s Bride, book 2 of the Brides of Birch Creek Series. Please consider posting a review or rating on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews help spread the word. It’s the best way to say “thank you” to any author.
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Thanks for reading.
Laura D. Bastian
Other books by Laura D. Bastian
STAND ALONE ROMANCE:
Sink Or Swim
Never Trust the Rain
The way it should be
SEASONS OF LOVE
Echoes of Summer
Winter’s Kiss
Autumn’s Embrace
Promise of Spring
ROYAL ROMANCE
Dancing with the Prince
Forgetting the Prince
Rejecting the Prince
The Reluctant Royal (time Travel)
BRIDES OF BIRCH CREEK
The Butcher’s Bride (part of the Book Club Series)
The Clerk’s Bride
The Widower’s Bride
CRAZY RICH CRUSH SERIES
Crazy Rich Vacation Crush
Crazy Rich Ex High Scho
ol Crush
TWICKENHAM TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE
Love’s Past
There’s Always Tomorrow
Only A Moment
YOUNG ADULT SPECULATIVE ROMANCE:
Eye On Orion
Beyond Orion
Heart of Orion
FANTASY
Burden of Blood
Guardians of the Gate
NOVELS UNDER L.K BASTIAN
URBAN FANTASY
Claire
Denise
Kegan
Emily
Kat
About Laura D. Bastian
Laura grew up in a small town in central Utah and now lives in another small town in northern Utah. She always loved stargazing and imagining life out-side her own little world. A graduate of Utah State University with a degree in Elementary and Special Education, Laura has been using that training as she raises her children and writes make believe worlds. You can usually find her on her laptop either typing away, or on social media interacting with friends when she’s not playing in her garden
Connect with Laura D. Bastian
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Goodreads Author page
The Widower's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 3) Page 11